Unexplainable Love
by xMessyNessy
Summary: "Miss Storm, as much as I hate to tell you this," Dumbledore paused, "You should be dead right now." Selene Storm, along with many others, was mysteriously found drifting down the Black Lake, everyone of them showing vital signs of being dead. Harry/OC
1. There's Something In The Water

_**Chapter 1 – There's Something In The Water.  
**_

Harry Potter was sitting under a beautiful beach tree by the Black Lake with a long roll of parchment, a bottle of ink, a quill and his two best friends; Ron and Hermione. They were finishing off their homework on a serene Sunday afternoon.

"I can't believe Dumbledore let her teach here ..." Spoke Hermione for the first time in a few minutes.

"I don't think any of us can, Hermione," Harry replied setting his quill down.

"You'd think if the Ministry was going to send someone to check up on us they would at least send someone good, Umbridge is a total nightmare." Added Ron.

"Your right ... I wonder if the Ministry even knows how bad she is, they probably haven't been victim to her ruthless attitude," Harry continued.

Harry turned to Hermione expecting her to add something else on the matter, but instead he got nothing. Hermione however had stopped listening entirely, her gaze plastered on a dark object floating in the water.

Suddenly Hermione stood up, dropping her homework that was previously set down on her knees. Surprising Harry and Ron, she stumbled down the bank towards the lake, stopping only when her feet had made the waters edge.

"There's something in the water ..." She exclaimed, answering Ron and Harrys' bewildered states.

Harry and Ron too, stood up.

"Hermione, it's probably just the giant squid," Shrugged Ron, brushing off the matter.

"No, it's not ... You can't see it, can you?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, searching the waters surface until he spotted it, it seemed to be getting closer. He followed Hermione down to the bank, coming to a halt beside her.

"What? ... What is it?" Asked Ron puzzled.

"I ... I think it's a person," Hermione answered after a short moment.

Ron, still not spotting it, slowly edged closer to his friends.

Hermione and Harry shared a quick glance, Harry noting the horrified look on Hermiones' face.

By now, the body had drifted noticeably closer and was only a short distance away from them.

"I see it," Ron uttered behind them, his voice blank with emotion.

Harry focused his gaze on the body and unconsciously felt himself entering the water. He waded across to the body, the water lapping at his chest. He stretched out his arms and lifted the body from the water, now realizing that this person was in fact, female. Harry pushed back through the water until he had once again reached the bank, he carefully laid the girl on the grass just down from the beach tree they had been sitting at a short time ago, their homework set astray underneath.

"Is she alive?" Harry asked quietly, kneeling at her side.

"I-I can't tell," Said Hermione hopelessly.

This girl, didn't look to be older than 15, she was only young. Her clothes were soaked and torn roughly in places, she had numerous cuts all over her body and most of them looked quite deep, as if she had been attacked by a rabid animal.

Harry pushed her dark, wet hair out of her face to reveal more cuts and a rather pale complexion.

" ... She's not dead," Harry confirmed, staring at her limp form.

"How do you know?" Ron questioned, frankly, she looked quite dead to him.

"I can feel it, it's like a presence ..." He looked up to Ron and Hermione who were standing over him, their faces saddened.

"Harry ..." Hermione started.

"No Hermione, it might sound far-fetched but it's true, I just _know_,okay? She's still alive."

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other, skeptical of his decision, they both knew he had been around death his whole life, maybe he just didn't want to believe it anymore.

"We should get help," Said Harry, his voice hard.

Hermione was just about to agree when Ron interrupted.

"Guys ..." He blurted out, his voice shaky.

Harry and Hermione followed his gaze to the lake.

There, in front of them were large groups of lifeless bodies floating down the lake like this girl had done earlier.

"I'm getting help," Ron concluded and with one last glance at the others, he hurriedly stumbled up the grounds towards the castle.

Harry looked from the lake, to Hermione and back to the girl on the grass beside him, totally speechless.

Hermione and Harry, having no idea what to do, stared blankly at the scene unfolding in front of them. They couldn't rescue them all, there were far too many. After all, they had no way of knowing if they were even alive.

After what seemed like hours, Ron finally returned. He was accompanied by various teachers including Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Hagrid.

"Oh my," Uttered Professor McGonagall, holding a shaky hand to her mouth.

"We need to get them out of here," Dumbledore stated, his expression pained, his eyes then rested on the girl beside Harry and he spoke again, this time addressing the rather shocked trio, "Go back to your common room, tell no one of this."

The three obeyed his words and after pocketing their homework, made their way up to the castle. Harry paused, he took one last glance of the girl he had rescued and slowly followed Hermione and Ron, causes of this horrid scene flashing through his mind.

The familiar path to the Gryffindor common room came unnoticed to Harry as his mind was elsewhere. By the time they had gotten to the portrait hole, all three of them seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

"Wattlebird," Hermione muttered, pausing at the portrait of The Fat Lady.

"You three look exceptionally happy this evening," She commented sarcastically.

After receiving three hard glares, she closed her mouth and the portrait swung open.

The three climbed through the portrait hole and into the bustling common room, there seemed to be more students in here than usual.

Hermione and Ron sat themselves down on the couch in front of the fire, gazing blankly into the flames. Harry, however didn't sit. His gaze was focused on the window opposite him, the window that faced the grounds.

He couldn't look, he wouldn't. He should just leave it be, he shouldn't be walking towards it, not now. Harry stepped up to the window, gazing out onto the grounds.

Strewn across the grass were bodies. If they were alive, Harry couldn't tell.

Standing at the waters edge was Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape, they were using spells to lift the bodies out of the lake while Hagrid was wading through the water to get to the others. Professor McGonagall seemed to be conjuring up stretchers for the lot and Madam Pomfrey had been summoned, she was kneeling beside a man, checking his wounds.

As depressing as it was to watch such a thing Harry couldn't draw his eyes away. Especially when Madame Pomfrey began checking over the girl he had pulled out of the water.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden tap on the shoulder. He turned his head to find none other than Hermione, her hand outstretched, ready to tap again.

Harry looked passed her, however, to see Ginny and Neville sitting beside Ron on the couch, all three of them were looking this way.

"Harry, Neville and Ginny are starting to suspects things, we can't tell them."

Harry nodded in understanding and stood up. He followed Hermione to the fireplace and sat in a squashy armchair beside it.

The sky outside had darkened measurably and it brought the flames to life, they were dancing and licking at the edges of the fireplace like they were yearning to get out.

"How are you, Harry?" Neville asked pleasantly.

It took a moment for him to realise that Neville was talking to him, "I'm ... fine. Just fine."

There was a slight awkward silence, Harry wasn't doing such a good job on 'concealing' the matter.

"I-I found that book you were looking for, in the library. I borrowed it for you, it's beside my bed."

"Oh, thanks Neville."

Neville nodded curtly.

"Well, how has everyones weekend?" Ginny asked, trying to find a topic that would actually stick.

"Mine was good," Commented Neville, he seemed to be the only one to actually reply.

A moment passed until Harry spoke, "I think I might head off to bed."

The others nodded and murmured 'goodnight'.

"Night," Harry said before disappearing up the stairs towards the boys dormitory.

Harry entered the dormitory and made his way over to his trunk at the foot of his bed before absent-mindedly changing into his pyjamas.

Harry toppled onto his bed and gazed at the full moon rising into the sky from out his window. He noted the dark clouds shrouding the night sky and thought about how quickly this peaceful day had turned into something out of a nightmare.

Harry pulled the hangings on his four-poster closed, shielding him from the moonlight.

Just moments later, he fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **_I really hope everyone likes it! I didn't want it to sound too dramatic or un-realistic, but at least I tried. Take in mind that this is my very first story on FanFiction and that I'm open to constructive criticism as long as it's not brutal. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! =3_

_-xMessyNessy_


	2. Vivid Dreams and Cauldron Explosions

_**Chapter 2 – Vivid Dreams and Cauldron Explosions.**_

That night was a rather rough one. Constantly, that girls face flashed through Harrys' mind like a beating heart, It wouldn't leave him alone. Then Harry saw all those bodies lying lifelessly on the grass, blood pooling around them. He wished he could help them. Harry gritted his teeth and was just about to run over to help when the scene changed.

_Harry found himself in the middle of the woods, he had the urge to run like something or someone was following him. Harry, obeying his own wishes, broke off at a run, having no idea where he was going._

_The trees around him were shrouded in an eery mist and the moonlight barely hit the ground._

_Suddenly Harry hit a hard, thick tree root and he fell to the ground on his stomach. Harry, feeling a presence behind him turned but saw nothing. Keeping his eyes plastered in that direction, he got up from the ground, brushed himself off and turned back the way he was originally going._

_This time what Harry had felt was actually there. Standing just a few feet in front of him was a large group of menacing wizards. Harry pulled out his wand from his pocket and watched silently as the group started to surround him. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw a scowling witch to his right raise her wand, ready to strike._

_"Expelliarmus!" He shouted, aiming his spell at the woman._

_Her wand zoomed high into the air and she chuckled darkly. A rather large man came up behind the woman, his wand raised._

_"Now, now, it was only a simple defensive spell," She stated turning to the large man._

_He grunted and lowered his wand a fraction._

_Meanwhile Harry had been edging further and further away. This, however, didn't seem to go unnoticed._

_Before Harry could act on it, he was thrown backwards by a powerful spell. Hitting the ground hard, Harry swore he heard something snap but his body was far too numb to feel any pain._

_Harry opened his eyes to see that merciful woman standing over him, the other wizards accompanying her._

_The woman once again chuckled darkly like she found this ordeal rather fun. The next thing Harry saw was her bending down closer and darkness engulfing him._

Harry sprang awake, he was breathing rather heavily and sweating slightly. He drew open the bed hangings, letting in the early morning light. He suspected it to be around 6am.

Harry sighed heavily, wiping his forehead with his hand. His previous dream flooding into his mind. It was just so _vivid_, like a past memory.

Deciding he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, Harry slid out of his bed and dressed himself.

Just before exiting the room, Harry spotted _Quidditch Through The Ages, _on Nevilles' bedside table. He doubled back and picked up the book. Harry glanced at Neville, Ron, Dean and Seamus, all four of them were fast asleep. All but one, having no idea what had happened yesterday afternoon at the lake.

As Harry stepped into the empty common room, book in hand, he spotted the window. Curiosity getting the best of him, he crossed the room and peered out the window. He saw no bodies, no teachers, no girl.

Again, Harry sighed and placed himself into the squashy armchair he had been seated at the previous night.

Harry, upon flicking through the many pages of his book, gave up. He hadn't been able to take in more than the first couple of sentences without drifting off into his thoughts.

What happened to all the bodies? Were any of them alive? How did they get to the Black Lake in the first place?

So many questions were flooding Harrys' brain, he needed to get some answers.

Harry exited through the portrait hole, followed the bewitched stairs down a few floors and made his way to Professor Dumbledores' office.

"Lemon drop," Said Harry.

The griffin gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside. Harry climbed the staircase until he reached the door to Professor Dumbledores' office. He knocked rather urgently.

"Harry, What do I have the pleasure of seeing you today?"

"Professor, can I ask you a few questions ... about yesterday?" Questioned Harry walking into the room.

"Yes, of course, I'm sure this must be a very strange ordeal for you. Here sit down." Dumbledore conjured up a chair for Harry to sit in before sitting in his own, behind the desk.

Harry sat, thinking of his first question, "Are any of them alive?"

Dumbledore paused, "Yes ... Some survived, most having pretty serious conditions, but their still alive."

Harry swallowed thickly, that was good news, right?

"... Where did they come from?"

"We can't tell for sure, but I have reason to believe that it wasn't a coincidence that sent them down the lake."

"You think a bunch of wizards could of done this?"

" ... Well, I can't say for sure but something like that, yes."

"Someone has to stop them."

"There's no need to worry Harry, we have people searching the area for suspected 'attackers', if they're still there, we _will_ find them."

Harry nodded thankfully, then spoke, slightly slower, "Professor, do you remember that girl ... the one that I pulled out of the water?"

"Yes, Harry I do."

"Well, is there any chance that she's ..."

"She's alive, if that's what you're asking." -Harrys' expression brightened ever so slightly- " We'll be receiving birth records and such in the next couple of days, meaning, if everything goes according to plan they will be identifiable."

"Okay, right ... There in the Hospital Wing, are they?"

"Yes, the victims are being tended to here, until further notice."

"Thanks, Professor. One last question, do many people know about it?"

"The teachers have been informed, as well as the Ministry, but other than Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and yourself, no other students. Remember we would like to keep it that way, we don't need extra alarm just yet."

"Right well, see you Professor," Harry said making his way to the door.

"Goodbye, Harry."

Harry walked down the empty corridor towards breakfast with a somewhat relieved expression, as sad as it was to hear that not everyone had survived, he was still quite happy that, that one girl had survived. He felt drawn to her for some reason.

By the time Harry had gotten to the Great Hall, he felt his stomach grumble, after all he had missed dinner last night.

Seating himself in front of a large pile of toast at the Gryffindor table, he was met with another fellow Gryffindor; Dean Thomas.

"Hello Harry," He said seating himself opposite him.

"Hi Dean."

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, no reason really ...It's just, last night I saw you sitting by the window, you looked kind of glum, that's all."

Harry opened his mouth to explain when he remembered Dumbledores' words not to tell anyone. He quickly thought up an excuse.

"I was kicked out of the library while trying to finish an essay, very upsetting ordeal." He said in a slight airy manner.

Dean watched as Harry piled bacon onto his plate, "... Oh okay, fair enough."

The two didn't say much after that, not until Ron joined them, shortly followed by Hermione.

"Double Potions first on a Monday, how could life be so cruel," Ron groaned, taking a bite of his toast.

"What more could we wish for, a full hour and a half with our _favourite_ Professor," Harry commented sarcastically.

Breakfast for Harry went incredibly quick. He was now standing in his Potions classroom, trying hopelessly – along with everyone else – to correctly brew a deflating draught. Out of the three of them, Rons' seemed to be the worst. It was gurgling horribly and smelled faintly of burnt toast.

"Hermione ..." He pleaded.

"Ron, I'm not supposed to help you ..." She sighed, "Add more essence of Belladonna, at least it will get rid of that smell."

Ron did as he was told and the smell disappeared, leaving only a small hint of liquorice.

"Thanks," He said breathlessly.

As if on cue, Professor Snape stalked over," I could of sworn that horrid smell was coming from you, Weasley."

Ron gulped, trying not to look at Hermione and give it away.

Snape gritted his teeth and without a good reason to hand out detentions, swept off to another table.

"Phew, that was lucky," Said Ron watching Snape point menacingly at Seamus Finnigan whose draught was spilling over the sides of his cauldron.

Harry nodded his head in agreement. Looking down at the recipe he remembered that he had forgotten to get one last ingredient.

"I'll be right back," He said heading for Snapes' ingredient cabinet.

Draco Malfoy, was at that time watching Harry. As soon as he left his cauldron, Malfoy strode over, Crabbe and Goyle following close behind.

"What do we have here, Weaslebee? Looks to me like your potion is more of a _poison."_

"Shove off, Malfoy," Replied Ron, Harshly.

Crabbe edged closer to Ron, distracting both he and Hermione. That's when Malfoy decided to take his move. Silently, he dropped a crushed handful of 4 different ingredients and backed away, not a moment too soon. Harry had come back from the cabinet, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Malfoy.

"What was all that about?" Harry asked as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stalked back to their table.

"He was just trying to pick a fight, as usual," Hermione huffed stirring her concoction anti-clockwise.

Harry turned backwards to Malfoy who was smirking gleefully.

Suddenly Hermione gasped, drawing Harrys' attention.

His own cauldron was bubbling violently, alarming wafts of smoke rising into the air.

"Harry, what did you do?" Hermione shrieked, stepping back.

"I didn't do anything!" Harry had retrieved his spoon and was trying hopelessly to calm the mixture.

Professor Snape spotted the incident and abandoning a students far too watery mixture, rushed over.

Suddenly the cauldron erupted, sending globs of a lumpy, khaki green substance high into the air. Harry, being the closest, seemed to get the full blast and fell backwards unexpectedly.

As many students had dived out of the way, Cauldron mixes and ingredients scattered the floor.

Ron pulled Harry up from the floor, staring dreadfully at Snapes' enraged expression. Harry gurgled like he was trying to say something but no words came out. He had conveniently swallowed some of the concoction.

"Uh, I'll take Harry to the Hospital Wing," Exclaimed Ron dragging Harry to the door.

Professor Snape stood there, too mad to say anything. Ron, taking this as a good time for Harry to leave, exited through the door.

Harry stumbled all the way to the Hospital Wing, threatening to throw up every step. Ron being the only thing keeping him up, was pleased when Madame Pomfrey ushered Harry to sit down on a vacant hospital bed.

"Oh, dear me, what happened here?" She asked.

"He was on the wrong end of a cauldron explosion," Ron explained standing at the foot of the bed.

"Hmm ..." The Healer stepped away from Harry, rushed into her office and came back with a tall bottle of what looked like watery Peanut Butter.

Madame Pomfrey uncapped the bottle and poured some of it's contents into a glass. She then passed it to Harry, waiting for him to drink.

Harry stared groggily at the glass for a moment, held it to his mouth and downed the entire contents in one go.

As Harry dropped the glass to his side, Ron noted his tortured expression, like he had just been forced to drink pure sick.

Harry opened his mouth slowly and blurted out, "My tongue ... It's itchy. I-Is that right?"

At least he could talk.

Madame Pomfrey smiled satisfyingly, "You might want to stay here for a little while, just until you get the feeling back into your legs."  
Just as she said this, Harry realised the fact that he could no longer feel anything from his waist down.

Madame Pomfrey, taking the tall bottle with her, made her leave to check up on other patients.

"Did you _see_ Snapes' face! His head looked ready to explode!" Ron commented, "I can't imagine what he'll be like in our next class, we're lucky we didn't stick around long enough for him to hand out life long detentions!"

Ron was right, Harry was sure to get a centuries worth of detentions next time he saw Snape.

"I reckon it was Malfoy," He started, "He was hanging around our table just before it happened, he probably put something in my cauldron for a laugh."

"Yeah, that sounds like something he'd do."

That's when Harry remembered Dumbledore telling him about the victims resting here, in the Hospital Wing.

Although some beds had been curtained off, he still managed to spot many unfamiliar faces, almost everyone of them unconscious.

Harry – using Ron as something to lean on – stood up, his legs feeling like jelly.

He craned his neck, searching for the girl. There she was, lying peacefully in a bed not too far away.

"That's her," Said Harry and, with the slight help of Ron, made his way over to the bed.

Harry edged closer to her unconscious state and found himself taking in her appearance.

The absence of dirt on her face and the fact that she wasn't as pale as she had been drew him in even closer, she was, to Harry quite pretty.

"Dumbledore thinks a bunch of dark wizards might of started all this," Harry told Ron quietly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was right, it's too much of a coincidence that it happened to so many people."

"But how would they be picking them? ..."

"Dunno, mate."

Harry was still incredibly inquisitive about this situation, so much that he didn't even notice the girl open her eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** _Yay, Chapter 2! I wrote this one fairly quickly because I'm sick at the moment and have nothing else to do.. So much for Friday night parties and riveting weekends! Ha._  
_Thanks to those people who reviewed, favourite'd and so on! It really means a lot to me. =]_  
_Happy reading!_

_-xMessyNessy_


	3. The Idea Of Being Dead

**__****Chapter 3 – The Idea Of Being Dead.**

The girls head pounded violently as she regained consciousness. She groaned, opening her eyes and sat up slightly, holding the side of her head.

As the room came into focus she noticed two boys standing at the foot of her bed, one looking slightly wobbly. The vast room around her seemed to be accommodating many others in hospital beds like herself.

Then one of the boys – the less wobbly one – turned his head to her and spoke, "Hey, she's awake."

His voice seemed to be distant, she guessed her hearing hadn't fully focused yet.

"Oh," The other one said quietly, although just loud enough for her to catch.

"Wh-Where am I? ..." She asked faintly.

"Uh, Hogwarts," Answered Harry, glancing at Ron.

"I'll go get Madame Pomfrey," Suggested Ron turning towards her office.

Harry stood awkwardly at the foot of her bed, too nervous to say anything, until Ron arrived with Madame Pomfrey.

"Dear, how are you feeling?"

The girl blinked a few times, massaging the side of her head, "Just a tad confused ..."

"I understand you would be, what's your name?"

It took a moment for the girl to answer, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, "Selene, Selene Storm."

"I'm Madame Pomfrey, I am a healer here, at this school."

"School?"

"Yes, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Selene looked to Harry and Ron for a moment, then back to Madame Pomfrey.

"Why ... Why am I here?" She said in a slightly stronger voice.

Madame Pomfrey hesitated, "You're here recovering."

"From what exactly? ..."

Again, Madame Pomfrey hesitated, "From your injuries."

Selene still looked quite puzzled.

"Miss Storm, what was the last thing you remember?"

Selene was wracking her brain helplessly for the answer, what _was_ the last thing she remembered?

Then it all came back and she started to remember details. She remembered sitting in a bar with her older brother, Harley. They had then gone outside for a reason Selene couldn't remember and then, from out of the darkness, she remembered seeing a large group of wizards approach them.

They seemed to be taunting Harley, she didn't understand, who were these people?

Then a large gap in her memory, she couldn't remember what had happened.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up on the ground in the middle of the woods. There was a tent like structure just a few feet away, three different voices emanating from inside.

An uncomfortable jolt in Selenes' stomach had told her something wasn't right here, that she needed to get away from that place.

She had stood up and as she did, a large troll-like man started towards her from out of the darkness. She stumbled backwards a few steps in surprise and he picked up his pace.

Selene had broken into a run in the other direction, there was no way she was going to be sticking around there.

She remembered hearing the troll-like man call out something to his fellow companions as she forced her way through the trees.

She had run only a short distance when she tripped over a large tree root and fallen hard on her stomach.

She remembered looking back and seeing nothing but the dense trees crowding around her. As she got up and brushed herself off she looked forward once more, the small, relieved smile immediately disappearing from her face.

There in front of her, stood those horrible wizards she had come in counter with at the bar. The troll-like man was one of the first to raise his wands, then another gap in her memory. The next thing she remembered was waking up in this unfamiliar room.

Thinking back on these memories, Selene couldn't get a certain number amount of thoughts out of her mind. One, being the fact that she hadn't seen her brother since the bar, and the second, the fact that she couldn't remember what seemed to be half of the night. What exactly had happened that she couldn't remember?

Now that Selene had come back to reality and was a lot more alert, she started to realize how sore her body really was. She felt bruised almost all over and her right leg felt as if it had been snapped in half. To top it off, she had a rather big lump on the side of her head – the place she had been massaging earlier – it was giving her a migraine.

Remembering Madame Pomfreys' question, she answered simply, "The last thing I remember was ... waking up in the woods."

Selene didn't feel a sprightly urge to explain all the fine details at this point in time.

"Which woods are you talking about exactly?"

"I-um, I don't know ... I don't know how I got there ..."

"Oh, then where were you prior to that?" Madame Pomfrey questioned eagerly.

"At a bar actually ... With my brother."

"Was your brother with you in the woods?"

"No, I didn't see him at all."

"Hmm ... I'll be right back, don't move." Madame Pomfrey turned towards the door, stopping almost instantly when she realized Ron and Harry standing there, beside the bed. "Oh, boys ... you can go now,"

Harry noted the slight urgency in her voice and wondered why she wanted them out of the Hospital Wing so badly.

Harry nodded, looked quickly to Selene and left after Ron, his wobbliness subsiding. As soon as they had gotten outside, their first conversation topic revolved around everything they had just heard, a few of their theories and how they longed to find Hermione to inform her on the details.

On the way down a wide corridor, however, they spotted Professor Dumbledore heading towards the Hospital Wing.

"D'you reckon Madame Pomfrey called him up there?" Ron asked after they were out of ear-shot.

"Dunno, probably. She was acting kind of weird, trying to get us out of there and all."

"I reckon she knows something, no doubt all the teachers would."

"Like what?"

"No idea, but it would have something to do with that girl, probably all of those people."

The two walked in thought all the way up to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione wasn't in there.

"That's weird. Where else would she be?" Ron asked, leaning on the back of a chair.

Harry answered shortly, not having to think about his answer, "The Library."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Hospital Wing, Selene had been approached by a rather elderly looking man with crescent-moon shaped spectacles, long silver hair and a long silver beard.

The man sat in the stool beside her bed and introduced himself, "My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school you are currently in. I believe your name is Selene Storm?"

Selene nodded curtly, waiting for him to continue.

"Now, Miss Storm, I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

"Yeah, okay."

"Madame Pomfrey tells me that you last awoke in the woods, had you ever been there before, did anything look familiar?"

"I wouldn't know. It was dark and I didn't exactly pay much attention to the flora."

"And that bar you were at... Did anything happen there? Anything _strange."_

"Um ..." Selene was re-playing the memory in her head, trying to think of anything, "I don't really remember anything inside, but outside, thats another matter."

"How so?" Dumbledore asked, his twinkling blue eyes full of intrigue.

"My brother and I were outside, I can't remember why we were there or what he was telling me, I just remember watching him talk. He looked panicked. Then, from around the corner, a group of people approached us ..." Selene paused for a moment, "They were taunting him like they were all past enemies of his, but I had never seen any of them before."

"What did you say your brothers name was?"

"Harley."

Professor Dumbledore seemed to be deep in thought, about what, Selene had no idea.

When he finally spoke again, his tone had changed, almost as if he was pitying her, "Miss Storm, as much as I hate to tell you this," Dumbledore paused, "You should be dead right now."

It took a few moments for his words to sink in and still she didn't quite grasp them, "E-excuse me?"

"The way you got here, to this school ... You, along with many others here in this room were found drifting down the Black Lake. If this had been a _real_ hospital you would more than likely have been pronounced dead."

"No, that can't be – I'm not ..." Selene brought her hands up to her face as if to check she was still there.

"You're not dead, but I'm guessing that whatever, or whoever caused this, intended you to be."

Selene had regained her speech for the moment, " ... How could I be pronounced dead if I'm here, awake ... _alive_."

"You, along with everyone else, showed vital signs of death, you see. Cold skin, a pale complexion, you were floating above the water. As well as your injuries, you might not know it yet, but some of them are very bad. Normally, you should have died from blood loss, if not drowning."

This time Selene _was_ speechless, she was supposed to die last night.

"... Why this particular lake, I have no idea, but what really gets me is _how_ you survived all this, as well as most of the others."

"Wait, most?" Selene asked quietly.

"Yes, not everyone survived, once they had awoken their injuries were just too much ..."

Selene stopped listening after this, her mind was fixed on everything she had just been told, more so the idea of being dead, as well as her last memories, was it those people that had done this? and if so, what had happened to Harley? It was all too much, she just wanted it to stop.

* * *

**A/N: **_This chapter gives out some answers, hopefully not too many - I still want to keep you guessing! I'm also quite surprised I'm writing these chapters so quickly, three in a week, I thought it would take a lot longer. Just goes to show how quickly you can get something done if you enjoy it! Hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as I do. =]_

_-xMessyNessy_


	4. The Draught Of The Living Death

**Chapter 4 – The Draught Of The Living Death.**

"Hermione?" Questioned Ron, craning his neck to see over the large stack of books.

In response, he received a concentrated grumble from the other end of the table.

Harry pushed aside the wall of thick books, revealing a rather stressed Hermione.

"I can't find anything!" She huffed snapping her current book shut.

"What exactly are you looking for?"Asked Harry as Ron scanned the book titles.

"Answers," She replied bluntly.

"Answers to what?"

Hermione sighed, "In Potions, Professor Snape, he was talking about a particular potion ingredient. A very rare ingredient, only a very skilled eye could spot it amongst other plants, it looks just like a regular weed."

"Well, what does it do?" Asked Ron pulling up a chair.

"_Apparently, _it holds a very special, very faint quality," She lifted her head towards the two boys, her expression serious, "If added into another draught, it can take away the _true _signs of life."

Harry blinked a few times, taking in this new information, did this have something to do with the lake incident?

Finding no response, Hermione continued, "I'm guessing Professor Snape is pulling another one of his 'unrecognisable clues' again, the same thing he did in third year. I think he was trying to explain what happened down at the lake, I'm pretty sure we're the only students that really know about it. I don't know _why _he would want us to know, though ... It doesn't make sense."

"So are you saying that whoever caused all of this was drugging these people with this draught?" Questioned Harry.

"Yeah, it sounds like it. Snape also explained that brewing it correctly – which is supposed to be extremely hard, will make that ingredient stronger, almost intense. I'm thinking that if someone is given enough of this draught they will be perceived as dead, just like these people were, I've been looking for more information to back up my theory but I've found nothing, not even a simple reference!"

"I wonder why, if Snape knows about it, I'm sure someone else would ... Did you look in the restricted section?" Ron pondered.

"No, not yet."

Hermione, Ron and Harry turned their heads down the isle towards the blocked off 'Restricted Section'.

"Do you reckon I should get Dads invisibility cloak out again?" Harry asked, half knowing the answer.

"Looks like it, I have a feeling none of the teachers will write us a note to research such a thing, let alone Professor Snape." Hermione answered, still looking towards that particular section.

* * *

Harry and Hermione were slowly creeping through the library towards the Restricted Section, covered by the invisibility cloak – Ron hadn't come as they could no longer fit a third person, there was too big of a chance that they would be seen.

"Hermione, what did you say this thing was called again?" Harry asked as they entered the Restriction Section.

"Holix, it's got to be in here somewhere."

Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off himself and Hermione, placed it on the back of a chair and started to look.

He scanned numerous titles until he found one that might actually work. Harry pulled _Potions At Their Worst_ down from the shelf and started on another section.

The two continued to look until they had found a pile of books each, they then sat themselves down and started to flip through individual books.

What seemed like hours later, Harry had just finished scanning the entire contents of _Death and It's Fine Ingredients _when Hermione stood up from her chair to peer over the books to Harry.

"Find anything?" She asked, her voice strained.

"Nothing," Harry replied closing the book.

"There's always _something!_ There has to be ..."

"Maybe not this time, Hermione."

Harry lifted his pile of books and set to work returning them to their places. He was trying to stuff in his last book when he knocked another book out of the bookshelf.

The book lay on the hard, wood floor, its pages knocked open. As Harry picked up the book, however, the casing dropped and what seemed like the dust cover was another cover entirely.

Harry picked up the cover, _The Properties of Magical Trees_ and compared it to the book he now had in his hands. An extremely thick, red book with black writing, the title reading _Dark Potions and Their Dangers._

"Hey, Hermione?" Harry called, staring at the book.

Hermione rushed over from behind a bookshelf, "Did you find it?"

"Um, No – Not exactly ..."

Hermione looked down at the book, "What's this?"

"I found it, it was covered by another books dust cover, it looks like someone's trying to hide it."

"Then maybe it's got what were looking for," Said Hermione, she pulled Harry over to the table they had been sitting at and they flipped through the pages together.

Hermione stopped on a particular page, she scrolled her finger down three quarters and stopped, she then started to read aloud.

"Draught of the Living Death, an extremely powerful sleeping potion that sends the drinker into a deep trance that mimics the state of death. If possessing one other ingredient however, it can become so powerful that only a very skilled wizard could spot the difference between life and death."

"... Do you think that's what we're dealing with?"

"Most likely, but that other ingredient ... I bet it's Holix!"

A loud bang erupted from the other side of the Library, braking the two out of their discussion. Their heads whipped around to the source of the noise, scanning the area for movement.

"What was that?" Harry whispered, grasping his invisibility cloak.

"I don't know," Hermione whispered back, she edged towards the lit lamp and flicked the switch, immersing the Library in darkness.

The two waited in darkness, listening for any sudden sounds. Then, another crash and a mass of books fell from a tall shelf, landing with a thud.

Harry beckoned Hermione under the invisibility cloak with him and they slowly edged forward towards the commotion.

There was one last clutter of books and Harry spotted a billow of robes disappear through the Library entrance.

"They're gone," He muttered to Hermione pulling the invisibility cloak off once more.

"What do you think they were doing?" Hermione asked inspecting the mess before her.

"No idea, they sure were surprised by something, though."

"Us, do you think?"

"No, they wouldn't of seen us that far back in the Library."

"Well, what else? There aren't any frightening books in this section," Hermione pondered, helping Harry return the pile of books to their original places.

"I dunno, what really gets me is why they were here in the first place, they can't of been in here for long and it's not like they had an invisibility cloak, they would've gotten caught."

Hermione shrugged, she too, was curious.

* * *

When Hermione and Harry returned to the common room, the book in hand, they found Ron asleep in a chair by the fire, after all, it was quite late in the night.

Harry prodded Ron countless times until he woke with a jolt.

"Whadd'ya doin'?" He looked around to find Harry and Hermione close by, "Oh ..."

"We found a book on that draught Professor Snape was talking about." Hermione told him.

Ron noted the dark sky and empty common room and said, "Took you long enough, how long were you there for anyway?"

"Oh, a couple of hours ... maybe more. There wasn't much on it," Hermione confirmed, biting her lip.

"Well does it say anything interesting?"

"It's called Draught of the Living Death. If the book is correct, adding another ingredient will turn the draught so powerful that it's almost _impossible_ to tell whether the taker is alive or not, we're thinking this ingredient is Holix."

Rons' eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Holix?"

"Yes, Ron. That ingredient I told you about earlier, the one Professor Snape told us about in Potions."

"I've never heard of it."

Hermione paused, "That's because it's known to be an extinct plant, that's why it's so rare."

"If it's extinct, then how did this _person_ brew it?" Harry questioned.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that this plant isn't so extinct after all."

The three continued to talk on this subject and the disturbance in the Library until the fire became burning coals and they couldn't stop yawning.

"Well, this has been a riveting afternoon, I'm off to bed," Yawned Ron getting up, followed by Hermione – tucking the book tightly in her robes- and Harry.

Harry couldn't help but ponder the reason that someone would go to such extremes just to fake death and fell asleep thinking of it, causing his dreams to revolve around odd theories.

* * *

**A/N: **_This one took a bit longer, maybe because I'm not sick anymore, meaning I don't have the same excuse to stay at home writing all day, ha. Hope you all like it! Oh and please review, to me, it's like that last spark of warmth on a cold, winters night! ... Too much? =P_

-xMessyNessy


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